Complex Strings of Fate
by Michiyumi
Summary: The doctor finally notices a certain hunter-gatherer- Or rather, he has no other choice when she joins the infirmary team. He begins to question himself when he starts having feelings he was not previously familiar with. Spoilers for Game


_**April 8**__**th**__** - First Encounter**_

The doctor had only left the infirmary for a moment. Just to return to a female browsing the shelves of medicine; reading the labels she could manage to pronounce to herself all the while. Shuu's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight, crossing his arms and looking over his red rimmed glasses he silently observed.

"Ethylpar, tri-fe, lucio benzene… What do these even do?" She asked herself, apparently not having sensed his presence yet. Rather reckless, if she was that easy to sneak up on, she may get into a… "_Accident_".

"Care to find out?" He asks, finally letting his presence be known. She whirled around, looking rather flabbergasted. Stuttering out his title, he wondered if she had a speech impediment, or if that was the nervousness talking. "I'll feed you all sorts of things, if you want. Hmmm?" He kept a straight face, and it sounded as though he was joking, but he certainly wasn't. She declines his request, more politely than expected. She was a mere high school scholar; he had expected perhaps a little attitude. Though to be so presumptuous, was certainly not a good habit, though he spent most of his life doing it, so he doubted he'd be able to break the old habit. Easily, anyway.

For a moment it seemed as though she herself was silently judging him. An amusing sight, no doubt. It only took her a moment to regain composure—He had to give her credit, to remain so calm around him; she was certainly one of the few. He just gave off this sense of danger; most students didn't like remaining in his company more than necessary.

"You don't look like you have a good reason to be in here. Did you need something?" He asks, looking at her with vague curiosity.

"Umm, I heard Ryouta…" She trailed off, her gaze casting downward. "Kawara, from 2-3 was supposed to be here." She continued, looking back up at him.

His eyes widened slightly and only for a moment upon hearing the familiar last name. Seeing as her expression remained the same, he assumed she had not noticed. "Him? He's already gone." He replied mundanely. She seemed disappointed, whether it be for the fact that he wasn't there, or another reason, he wasn't quite sure. She apologized and quickly rushed out shortly after.

His lavender eyes followed her as she rushed out of the room. Strange girl. Although there are many faces and many names; so few that are of any actual significance to him… As far he was concerned this would be the first and last time he was to see her. That is unless she got injured or fell ill on campus. Which didn't seem at all likely. From the looks of it, she was completely healthy.

There was no use over thinking it. After all, he did have much more important things to take care of.

_**April 11**__**th**__** - Left to Wonder**_

An uneventful day. Though he had forgotten about the incident that had happened only a few days ago, quite quickly, there was something else bothering him- Almost as though the female played a bigger role in his life than he had earlier anticipated. But what role?

He couldn't have her getting in the way. What if she got in the way of his research? Oh, that would be most dire, indeed.

Though of course, he knew how to deal with her if she saw something she shouldn't have. But it would be a shame if the school began to notice the increasing number of missing students.

"Is there something bothering you, Doctor Iwamine?" Yuuya asked, apparently having noticed Shuu wasn't as focused as he usually was. He glanced over at his assistant, he usually kept to himself. He should know by now that by now; even if he asked if something was wrong, he would most likely give him an unreadable stare before going back to his work.

As he took longer to answer, Yuuya seemed to sense it wasn't the doctor's usual spacing. "Daydreaming, perhaps? Is there a special female in your thoughts? That would certainly be a first; I wonder who the lucky girl is." He teased, leaning back on the plain white wall opposite of the doctor's desk. "Maybe the Strings of Fate bind you together. It would be interesting, wouldn't it?" He continues before walking out the door. His infirmary duties were over, so he did not attempt to stop him. "Be careful, Doctor. We wouldn't want you to lose your head over a girl." He adds as he walks out of sight and down the corridor.

_Strings of Fate..?_ The doctor briefly wondered. He hadn't heard of such a thing until now. Though, it did sound interesting. Perhaps he would visit the library after he finished up with what he needed to. The teen had piqued his interest in the midst of his usual one-sided conversations.

He had recently been too busy to tend to his experiments, which made him slightly disappointed, as they were rather exciting.

But they would have to wait, and he couldn't be more suspicious than he already was. To be reckless about such things was currently not an option.

_**April 15**__**th**__** - New Arrival**_

Yet again, he had left the infirmary for only a moment, having left his desk a mess because he quickly grabbed something to go check something else within the staff room. He returned to find none other than the same honey-brown haired female hovering over his desk, shuffling through papers. "You again?" He asks, she hadn't noticed when he came in, again. She shared the same similar reaction she had during their first encounter.

"I just got back, but… Oh my, we do have sticky fingers, don't we." He asks, cupping his chin and carefully observing the female. His expression cold, as usual. "If you're having a problem keeping your hands off things you shouldn't be touching; I could always remove them for you." He pauses. "But that would prove to be a problem in your daily activities, hm?" He sighs inwardly at the sudden realization. It would have been nice to have another new sample. As far as he was concerned, one could never have too many.

"Th-that's not it!" She exclaimed defensively. "Sakazaki asked me to clean…" She trailed off, her eyes silently pleading innocent as she stared into his seemingly soulless eyes. How she gave off the feeling that she wasn't at all intimidating was… Quite fascinating…

"Clean?" Shuu asked, his eyes narrowing in curiosity as he quickly filled in the blanks. "…Oh, I see. You're on the staff now." He said, feeling slightly embarrassed by his earlier assumptions. A very bad habit indeed, getting him into awkward situations such as this.

"Y-yes…" She sheepishly replied, fidgeting with the sleeve of her school blazer as she continued maintain eye contact. Although naïve and somewhat timid, she did have her fair share of bravery. But she should learn to place it where it serves to be most useful. She had impressed the doctor, if that was her intention.

Turning his thoughts back to Sakazaki Yuuya; had he informed her not to go messing around his desk? If he hadn't that'd be a careless mistake, one that nearly cost the young girl her head.

"Did he say anything about going near my desk?" He asks, reminding himself not to be so presumptuous when he had no evidence to make such a brash accusation.

"Yes sir…"

_Ah, so it was her careless mistake, rather than Sakazaki's. _He thought, deciding to let her off with a warning. "Please be more careful next time." He smiles for a moment; none too gently. "Curiosity killed the cat… Among other things. Hohohoho."

"Yes, sir…"

She finishes up the rest of her duties in silence before leaving to return home without a single word.


End file.
